Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-01-15
DRAWN FROM REAL LIFE.

| DRAWN FROM REAL LIFE.
DR.. GOdding Describes an interesting
| Specimen Of 1nebriate.
| BE POINTS MORAL BY TAKING wELL-KNowN
| CHARACTER AS AN INSTRUMENTATION TAKEN
| BY THE MEDICAL SOCIETY TOWARDS ESTABLISHING
| An INEBRIATE HOME.
Dr.. W. w. Godding, superintendent Of the gov.
eminent hospital for the insane, read before
| the Medical society OF the District at recent
meeting an interesting paper entitled 'The
| Problem OF the Inebr1ate," which resulted In
| action taken by the society looking to the
| establishment OF an institution for the care OF
inebriatesL DR.. Godding's paper, however, has q
popular as well as a professional interest, as 1t
| presents and describes as typical inebrfate a
man recently deceased, who will be recognized
from the doctors description as one of the best
known characters OF washington. In opening his
paper, the writer says the difficulty at the outset
| OF the discussion was In the question, What Is
meant by the inebr1ate? We are accustomed to
| consider drunkenness and 1nebriety as synOny-
nous terms, yet not every man who gets drunk ia
| what we call an 1nebr1ate.
CASE IN POINT.
"To better illustrate the meaning of the term
nebriate." the doctor continues, ." present to you
in this paper the brief memoir Of typical tnebri-
4
blood For obvious reasons withhold his name,
but for convenience of designation, win call him
which win answer our purpose as well as any.
This Is not temperance lecture in disguise intro
ducing tine Col. as object lesson, after the man.
ner or the Athen1an teacher who exhibited a
| drunken man TO his pupils. He is presented SIM
ply as pathological specimen, and do this with
fse or at IN aong 80 amy
col. would have preferred should be kept covered
now now that he Is gone, for the man, while
cacy OF feeling was a weakness OF which
ne was never suspected; public opinion
h me depsed the wages OF sin were to
pose as an awful example, and think he would
have consented that his viscera should be photo
coats OF the stomach, merely stipulating that
their membranes should be occasionally motStened
with whisky: What study the anatomist might
what lesson the moralist would draw from his
finished life were matters Of profound indifference
to him, as do not think he expected to pass this
way again.
THE COLONIES FIRST COMMITMENT.
MY first acquaintance with the colonel was In
May, 1878, when he was brought to ST. Elizabeth
on the certificate of two physicians to his insan-
fly. In May, 1886, almost exactly eight years
later, parted with him for the last time to hear
within three weeks OF his death. Just turned Of
forty when first knew him, and, looking only on
that magnificent physique with which nature had
scrutinizing more closely you saw that the ARGUS
senins had come, the vital energies burned down,
5ns wit T sqse at s dr Bs an In
out OF him. There was left only an insane thirst
for whisky and what his uncle in a conversation
with me once styled his fatal facility In writing
The latter, although deteriOrated with all the rest,
still Afforded him, as newspaper hack writer,
preearous income from nus articles; These were
and then Scintillation OF the old wit which still
set the tables in roar All else was gone; prop
erty II be ever had It, positions Of trust which ne
had held and lost by his vices, and troops OF
friends that he had alienated; for
THIS BOHEMIAN PRINCE
OF dead-beatS was as supremacy selfish man as I
have ever known. The affection of two wives had
been wasted ON him; the devotion OF the last,
which was something tneXplicable, awaited no
more 10 turn him TO virtuouS courses than signing
the temperance pledge did to wean him from his
cups; and the influence OF both had less restrain
ing power over him than the nghteSt Whit from
his cigar. AS the typical reformed inebriate he
was the making and undoing OF know not how
many temperance organizations. OF the various
antidotes for drink he was the universal solvent;
the thirst within him was his one strong point the
only thing that waxed not old" After a descrip-
and mental, following the COonel's debaucheS, the
doctor says that the time passed by him in the hos
pital for the insane, during the years referred
TO Two years and four months, or something less
than one-third Of the whole period. "There were )"
the doctor writes, 'also voluntary visits OF short
say that duriAg the eight years he was for an
equal length OF time SOLDERING up in one Of the
city hospitals the work-house, the alms-house, or
the sheltering arms OF some other eleemOsynary
institution. 1t was during stay In one of these
ravens OF rest, already becoming restless for
drink, that he writes he had now run the gaunt-
let OF all the Institutions (naming them except
ly1ng-in establishment, OF which he yet hoped to
md one sqieiently respectable for him to enter,
unless as he feared he should be found physically
disqualified for the situation
PERIODICAL RETURNS.
Seeing how large portion of these eight years
was passed in institutions Of one kind and another
one wonders when he was sober, Just as his fire.
quent appearance at the bar OF the Police Court
always DRINKS? To which, with the gravity OF a
pundit, the colonel replied, Does your honor take
me for a miliona1re?'
There was noticeable periodicfty about the
eol0nefs fnnrmity. Remaining at the hospital as
general rule, only 50 long as he could be Induced
TO remain voluntarily, 1t Is instructive In path
illogical study OF the case TO note how frequently
after residence and abstinence OF but little more
than month, important business made it i'm
peratively necessary that he should return to the
city and his wallow1ng in the mire' he
always went forth confident In bis strength: he
came back Ike the prodigal in his weakness, but
with this difference, that the hospital AUTHORITIES
soon got over ordering real on his arrival"
THE MONTANA EPISODE.
The doctor says: 81 might go on for an hour H.
Illustrating the varying phases Of his nfrmity from
correspondence and note books, but with nv lin.
tied time single episode-that Of the Montana
Irp-must suffice:
In January, 1852 an army officer moved by I
know not what good impulse, secured a fairly re-
munerative position for the colonel in the quarter
masters department OF the U. s. army station to
be In Montana 1t Is needless to say that our hero
was oyer1oyed. Thenceforward there were TO be
no more spicy letters from 'Our occasional cores
pondent,' dating nominally from Saratoga. from
Newport, or from the Thousand Isles, but really
written within the purlieuS OF a lunatfc hospital
And There were 'tO be no more cakes and ale
Here was an opportunity TO redeem himself or
perish In the attempt / thought 1t would be
the latter for I'm the dead OF winter and the des-
tfnatiOn. Montana, felt morally certain that
he would freeze TO death on the road. He left
the hospital on Thursday TO make the necessary
preliminary arrangements 10 start ON Saturday
night for his destination. need hardly saw that
one OF these prelimlnares was to get so drunk on
Friday that he was brought to the station house
In the evening perfectly unconscious He got out
later, was found asleep on the floor OF the tele-
graph onice and again gathered in. A devoted
friend writes: HE hurried of on Saturday night
but lily equipped for his i've days journey,
promising TO write from Chicago. haven't heard
q word, and believe he Is drunk or dead or
both ana adds, never expect 10 see him again
but IL do you WILL 'We felt that at least St
Elizabeth was done with him. Like Mark Twain
watching the Arab on his foot race up and down
the pyramids, / said now he WiH Slip, now he
must break his neck certainly in that all-day ride
In a coach In Montana, with temperature OF 4Oo
below Zero he can't fail TO freeze to death But he
didn't; other passengers were lifted out stiff and
frosted, but alcohol will not CONCEAL In a letter
from hospital of the Sisters il Montana he saws
OF his journey: AT Deer Lodge strengthened the
garrison with quart bottle In my overcoat
pocket. The result was I arrived at Helena dead
broke down from fatigue, cold, want Of food and
sleep, and the awful and TO me hitherto unknown
poiSOns in Rocky Mountain whisky But though
he did not freeze, he was at once I'm hot water with